WA Athletes Compete at Canberra Track Classic
Wet conditions had the better of Australia’s premiere pole vaulters at the Canberra Track Classic on Monday.
Kurtis Marschall claimed the win via countback, after his effort of 5.30m was matched by training partner Declan Carruthers.
The WA pole vault collective saw a third member join the podium, with recent recruit Angus Armstrong taking third place with a best clearance of 5.15m.
The three athletes – who have each relocated from interstate – have formed a strong training program in Perth under coach Alex Parnov.
Despite the low heights in Canberra, the squad has been well performed in Perth in recent times, as evidenced by Carruthers who achieved a new personal best of 5.60m at a track meet in Perth earlier in the month.
The combination of early season hitout and wet weather conditions also influenced some shorter than usual distances in the men’s javelin competition.
West Australian Cruz Hogan threw 68.98m for third place with Kiwi visitor Ben Langton Burnell (71.88m) edging multiple national champion Hamish Peacock (71.09m) into second place.
WA sprinter Aaron Bresland ran seventh (10.78sec) in the men’s 100m which was very impressively won by Tasmanian Jack Hale in 10.23.
The meet however, was highlighted by two IAAF World Championship qualifiers run by New South Wales’ Sarah Carli (55.67) and Australian track and field stalwart Lauren Wells (55.72) of the ACT respectively. Western Australian hurdler Alanah Yukich was sixth in 60.22.
In the mixed 10,000m race walk, WA athlete Declan Tingay was eighth overall and third Australian after completing competition in a time of 41:28.50.